Electricity co-op fails to connect

Saturday

Jun 30, 2007 at 2:00 AMJun 30, 2007 at 9:29 AM

Two town councilors stopped the clock last week on the town getting in on the ground floor of an electric cooperative with the county.

Two town councilors stopped the clock last week on the town getting in on the ground floor of an electric cooperative with the county. In effect, Jim Munafo said he hadn't heard that anyone in Barnstable was interested in building such a structure, and Jim Crocker wanted to ensure that, if the town moved in, it would inhabit the penthouse.With both councilors declaring "Charter objection," the matter was put off to the next council meeting. The body has begun its summer schedule, meaning it won't meet again until July 19.Two members of the town attorney's office, counsels Bob Smith and Charlie McLaughlin, have been meeting with county officials for many months to explore setting up a cooperative with the county and other Cape and Martha's Vineyard towns. The potential entity would be able to own generating and transmission equipment, buy and sell energy, and distribute power to consumers.

"I consider my job is to keep your options open," Smith told the council. That includes exploring the possibility of such a collaboration.

Councilors were being asked to approve creation of a Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative whose initial members would be the town, the county and the Cape Light Compact. Only after the creation of the cooperative and its entry into a contract for small amounts of energy and renewable energy certificates would the group be able to obtain a ruling on its tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service and the state Department of Revenue -- which don't waste time reviewing hypothetical entities, apparently.

"We've tried to take this to the first baby step," Smith told the council.

However, Munafo said, "I haven't heard from any of my constituents that they want the Town of Barnstable to be an electric company."

Crocker was not satisfied that the town would have sufficient weight in the decisions made by a cooperative, and said he was concerned that Barnstable's excellent credit rating could be used by other communities for projects with no benefit to the town.

Munafao moved to postpone consideration until the Sept. 20 meeting, which failed 5 to 7. Crocker and Munafo then made almost simultaneous charter objections, and Smith, somewhat sadly, made the ruling that such action was allowable as the proposal was a measure.

Before July 19, Crocker said, "I think this group might want to sweeten our pot" with arrangements more favorable to Barnstable.